


When the Sun Rises

by 3ves



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Angst and Tragedy, Dave and Karkat die together sorry, Doomed Timelines, Everyone is Dead, M/M, One Shot, or dying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-17 09:50:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16514048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3ves/pseuds/3ves
Summary: “Everybody’s dead, John.” You spit blood and the bright crimson stands out on the grey asphalt of the final platform. His hand is shaky on your shoulders as he tries to steady you.“Like DEAD dead?” he asks, hysteria creeping into his voice as you momentarily catch your breath and lean against him. You’re not too far off yourself it seems.





	When the Sun Rises

“Everybody’s dead, John.” You spit blood and the bright crimson stands out on the grey asphalt of the final platform. His hand is shaky on your shoulders as he tries to steady you.

“Like DEAD dead?” he asks, hysteria creeping into his voice as you momentarily catch your breath and lean against him. You’re not too far off yourself it seems. Caledfwlch is heavy in your hand. Even heavier is the sense that you need to do something. There are things you need to say. Not here though. Not yet. (God, you hope not yet.)

You repeat yourself, barely believing it yourself, “Everybody is dead, John.”

Clarity cuts into you and takes your breath away when a stabbing pain shoots out from one of your stab wounds. You lurch away from him. Caledfwlch clatters on the floor but you can barely hold yourself up, let alone that legendary piece of shit. 

“I have to go.”

“Wh- what. Dave!” John cries out as you shoot off towards LOFAF.

Sorry, bro. Got stuff to do.

By the time you find him, the world is two shades darker and you doubt your feet could’ve carried you farther than this. Your heart stops when you catch sight of him leaned against the trunk of a tree with his eyes shut. He’s not dead though. Not yet. The crease between his eyebrows and his shallow breathing is signal enough that you aren’t alone in paradox space’s shittiest club consisting of Assholes On The Doorstep Of Death.

You mean to say as much when you collapse next to him but instead you say, “Don’t die yet, Vantas. Party just started.”

He doesn’t respond, instead slumping against your shoulder as if he can hide his face from the world. His hair tickles your throat and you think you can feel the sticky remnants of salty tears on his cheek. If you close your eyes, you can pretend you’re back on the meteor. You can pretend that Good Luck Chuck is playing in the background as Karkat leans into you like it’s the easiest thing in the world and ignores the way you tense because straight boys don’t fall in love with boys.

You used to be so stupid. Now you can’t afford that kind of stupidity and your hand scrambles to catch his and squeeze it tightly between the two of you without hesitation. It feels like it takes all of your energy. It’s worth it.

Uncharacteristically quiet, he breathes out, “‘m glad you’re here.”

“Can’t fuckin’...” you drawl, “bet on you… flyin’ to me somehow... can I?”

He huffs against your neck exactly one time as if laughing would drain him of the rest of his energy.

“Fuck your godtier powers,” he says, but there is no bite to it.

You are both quiet for a very long time. You worry that he’s died already before you could say something and squeeze his hand slightly. He squeezes back. 

Your shoulder becomes suspiciously wet and you realize he is crying. Fuck. Your heart swells within you and you wish you could rewind time. You wish you were more than some shitty Knight of Time wasting away on this planet far from home.

“Karkat,” you say because there is no better time to speak than now.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

He’s quiet.

“Yeah. I human love you too.”

You know he said it that way because you love it when he puts the word 'human' before anything. Normally, you’d laugh, but all you can manage right now is a small painful smile. You think you’re crying now too.

“Don’t go without me, Karkat.”

“I’d never.”

It feels like every time you’ve fallen asleep with Karkat after bingeing several movies late into whatever qualified as the night on the meteor. It feels like falling in love with him all over again: excruciating and slow. It feels natural like the next obvious and inevitable step in the waltz of life.

You both fade away like the moon when the sun rises.


End file.
